Highway Contractors Commended

Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill has commended the quality of work delivered by the contractors of both the Northern Coastal Highway Improvement Programme and Highway 2000, as those thoroughfares withstood the onslaught of Hurricane Ivan.
The North Coast Highway suffered no significant damage, except for the Bengal Bridge, at the border of Trelawny and St. Thomas, noted the Minister in an interview with JIS News.
“They advised me that for historical purposes, they were trying to preserve the bridge, but because the bigger bridge is beside it, it is operating as a blockade from the smooth flow of debris and fallen trees, and so unfortunately that bridge will have to go,” Minister Pickersgill said.
The new drainage system introduced by the contractors also proved quite effective, informed Minister Pickersgill, as some places along the north coast that would normally experience severe flooding, were spared this time around.
“Because of the new drainage system, the Shell gas station in Runaway Bay, for example, was quite clear. Other areas too where the water ran off very quickly were Flankers and indeed at Chukka Cove, where they had spent quite a sum on drainage,” he told JIS News.Speaking on Highway 2000, Jamaica’s first toll road, the Minister said this was not affected by Hurricane Ivan and work would continue on schedule.
Mr. Pickersgill said tours have been done by the contractor and Dr. Wayne Reid, Chief Executive Officer of the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC), and “there has been no reported damage to either the finished road or what is under construction”.